Wedding Dress Poll?

Question

I'm looking for a wedding dress that costs between $600-$1000. Please...No David's Bridal.....No E-Bay.....No Online Merchants.

Did anyone have a dress in this price range? What was the exact cost? What designer was it? Do you have a picture of it?

Also, how much did you pay for alterations and your bridal accessories?

I'm looking to see what designers people wore.

I know I can go on theknot.com, brides.com and the weddingchannel.com and look at dresses.

But, I want to know the what designers people wore and how much they paid for them. How much the alterations were?

I'm looking to for those that bought their dresses at a bridal salon or dress shop.

No renting. Not to sound snobby, but I don't like wearing other people's clothing.

It's a personal thing for me. I prefer to buy my own dress. I'm planning on preserving it too.

Answer 1

Maggie Sottero
Jessica McClintock

Answer 2

I had multiple dresses in that price range. Really you just need to open the phone book and go by the bridal salons in your area.

Now the two dresses I narrowed it down to were only $30 difference. One was $840 and the other i believe $807-812. Now that included taxes and the veil that I wanted as well. The marked price on the dress I went with was $700.

As far as accessories, that is completely up to you. I see on tv the bride spending $85,000 on jewelry. Many brides I know use a piece of their mother's as their something borrowed. My dress was so ornate that I didn't do a necklace at all. I wore my engagement ring and my mothers blue tanzanite ring on my right hand. I didn't do gloves, I wore shoes I already had as my "something old". The only "accessories" I bought were my hose, garter, earrings and tiara--so perhaps just over $100.

Email me and I'll show you pictures--they are online. The dress I actually went with did come from David's Bridal though so you might not want to see it.

Now alterations were the costly part. Both dresses I got estimates on alterations and both were going to be more than $100 in alterations--and all I had done was hemming and bustle. So if you are really exact in your 1,000 cap, I would say the most your dress can be is $700 (leaving 100 for taxes, 100 for alterations and 100 for accessories). If you need any other alterations (especially along the bodice), you may expect to pay a decent amount more than that.

Now if you live in NYC or California it might be more difficult, but I don't think any of the stores I went in to had many dresses more than 1,000. They had to custom order those. Most of their stock was just in the price range you mentioned. Just go to the different bridal stores in your area though b/c you'll need to figure out what style of dress you like (how embellished/plain, neckline, skirt-ballgown or sleek) before you can limit the price so much. Then you'll be able to go to stores with a more exact idea in mind.

Answer 3

You gown price range falls within the average cost of a bridal gown, so there will be many designers to choose from. Take the time to try on gowns, and don't just go by the magazine pictures. Sometimes what we think we love in the magazine, is not so flattering in the mirror! Work with a consultant at the salon who is professional and knowledgable.

Alterations at a bridal salon are costly......budget at least 100.00...some salons start alteration costs at 250.00 (!!). If a salon tells you the alterations are free, the costs are built into the price of the gown.

I have done bridal alterations for fifteen years, and have worked closely with Jessica McClintock. I worked out of my home, had proper insurance, and my rates were reasonable. I only did wedding and evening gowns. You can find people who do alterations who specialize in bridal gowns. This is important, since it requires a customized fit.

Answer 4

My dress is by Casablanca Bridal and I got it from the Bridal House in St. Albert (Alberta, Canada). The dress cost just under 1000 and I paid 100 for alterations. Casablanca has a website - their dresses are available all over North America. I liked the fact that they are a smaller company that makes dresses individually...I was able to change the neckline on my dress for just 25$ and the beading and details were changed to suit the new one - looks great!
Good luck!

I forgot about accessories:
Earrings - $130
Shoes - some I already own
Hair - a flower - free from dad's garden
Necklace - none, doesn't suit the dress
Purse - My sister is going to carry stuff for me in hers!
Veil - 100 - but I've decided not to wear it

Answer 5

My dress was from maggie Sotero and I loved it! He dresses would probably fit in your price range and I think they are really gorgeous. Mine was on the less expensive side ($530 with the cap sleeves) but it still looked really great. Lots of her dresses have the lace up back rather than buttons or just a zipper.

For alterations I paid about $150, because I gained weight between when I bought it and when it came in (eek!) so she had to let out the sides a bit. She also hemmed the bottom and took in the top so it fit better.

Accessories, I bought a cubit zirconium (sp?) necklace and earings on www.overstock.com and they came to just under $100 on sale (the necklace was pretty big, not just a chain and a pendant - but it looked good with the cut of the dress and the neckline etc). If I hadn't bought the jewelry I would have worn my mom's pear earings and necklace. I used my mom's veil but if that haddn't worked I would have made one myself for about $30. Shoes I got at payless in their Bridal section (only at select stores) for $15 bucks.

I am really a cheapskate at heart so while it might sound like I just threw stuff together from various stores, the end result still looked awesome (if I do say so myself).

I also liked the dresses at Jasmine Bridal. They have a great bridesmaid dress selection also.
Good luck!

Answer 6

I haven't purchased my dress yet, but I love the designs by Alfred Angelo, Maggie Sottero and Casablanca. Your local bridal shops will carry dresses from certain designers and will have numerous catalogs to look through. They are usually very informed about designers and if you have a specific style in mind they can tell you which designer is best. The only things I've purchased so far are my jewelry and my veil, which I got off of ebay for less than $30. I wanted a veil with butterflies and rhinestones and another Y!A member found it for me on ebay. Also ebay has a lot of businesses where they make the dress to your measurements, so they are not used.

Answer 7

Hi! I did not like David's bridal either. I am not sure what area you are fom, but there is a bridal salon called Arena Bridal in Shelby Twp., MI. This is where my dress is from. Here's what it looks like: http://www.moonlightbridal.com/frontend/proddetail.asp?pn=M2701&co=10000308
I had the neckline altered to a sweetheart though.
I only paid $900 for it, and the place has dresses that range from $600 to $14,000. Huge selection but still small bridal parlour feel. PLUS, they do all the bride's and mother's alterations free! Good luck!!

Answer 8

My dress was custom made since I couldn't find it in a shop. Seamstress charged me $650 for it and since it was custom made for me there were no charges for alterations. Don't know who the orginal designer was.

It very similar to the dress Audrey Hepburn wore in Sabrina (1954) except that I had her add three quarter lenght sleeves and the hem is floor length all the way around. Champagne with dark purple design.

You can see a good picture of the original dress on here, scroll down and its the one in the pic of her with the two dogs.
http://www.pettipond.com/laterimages/image_ce/audreyhepburn/

Answer 9

I've tried on dresses from Maggie Sottero's Destinations collection and they were beautiful. Most if not all were under $1000. They are not princess-y or full skirted since they are meant to be for beach weddings and weddings abroad but the mermaid silhouettes and light materials felt great. You can find them on her website, and also find out which bridal stores carry them.

Answer 10

i bought two wedding dresses-lol
the first one cost $800 and i had to get 0 alterations on it.. it was from a little shop on 17th ave (calgary..)
the second one cost $700 and i had to get $160 worth of alterations done..
i don't know the designer lables on them because they are in storage right now...
there are lots of nice dresses at shops- you just have to shop around and be patient..